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Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Trumah Exodus 25:1-27:19
By Shlomo Riskin
Efrat, Israel - Since the Desert Sanctuary (Mishkan) was
the “Mother of all Temples,” and the Sacred Ark which housed the Tables
of Stone was arguably the central feature of the Sanctuary, then the details
of the construction and decorations of the Ark would certainly contain
important lessons for us today. To this end, there are a number of questions
concerning the Biblical command to erect the ark which beg to be asked.
Firstly, whereas the construction of every other aspect of the Sanctuary
began with the verb, “You (Moses) shall make…,” the ark’s
construction opens with the command, “they (plural) shall make…..”
(Ex. 25:10). Why? Secondly, the ark was made of acacia wood (atzei shittin)
and was overlaid with gold; was not the repository of the Ten Commandments,
the two tablets engraved by G-d Himself, worthy of being made completely of
gold, like the menorah was? Why was the ark only gold-plaited? (Ex 25:13).
Thirdly, what was the significance of the two staves, or poles, which had to
be constantly attached to the ark and could never be removed (25:13,15).
Indeed, Rabbi Eliezer goes as far as to say that whoever would dare remove
the staves would be liable to the penalty of whipping ordained by the Bible.
(B.T. Yoma 82b) Were simple poles so important to the functioning of the Ark
that removing them would be transgressing a Biblical command? And finally,
the detailed description of the ark concludes with the two cherubs, each at
either end of the ark cover, between whom “I shall meet with you there and
I shall speak to you …. Everything that I shall command you with the
children of Israel (Exodus 25:22). But since G-d had already commended the
laws of the Decalogue, why is this put in the future tense? And what is the
symbolism of the cherubs?
Nachmanides (Ramban), in his introduction to our Biblical portion which
deals with the Sanctuary, maintains that the Almighty commanded the
construction of the Sanctuary following the Revelation at Sinai and the
subsequent legal code of Mishpatim as a continuation of the ongoing Divine
communication with His nation ; “it was from there, (between the cherubs
overlooking and protecting the ark), that G-d would speak to Moses and
command the children of Israel,” (Ramban, adloc). Hence, the Ark was not
merely the repository of the Divine word already given; it was rather the
place from where the Divine message would continue to be given – even
after the Sanctuary itself would cease to function and Moses himself would
pass on to the next world.
That is why Moses records the Revelation at Sinai as having been given by
means of “a great (Divine) voice which has never ceased” (Deuteronomy
5:19, see Targum there); that is why the Great Sanhedrin was situated in the
Office of the Hewn Stone (or the office of the clear-cut Decisions) which
was within the Holy Temple Precincts, the body of 71 Sages who interpreted,
enacted and decreed laws for the Israelites in accordance with the
exegetical and hermeneutic principles of our Oral Law with express Divine
Sanction (Deut 17:8-11); and that’s why our Responsa and Commentary
literature continue to interpret and legislate new laws (a new semi Festival
like Israeli Independence Day, for example) in accordance with the blessing
we recite over Torah.: we praise the G-d who “has chosen us from all the
nations and has given us the Torah. Blessed art thou, O Lord, Who gives
(now, in every generation, through the Torah leaders of the generation) the
Torah”.
With this understanding, it becomes clear why Moses may have died, but we do
not know his burial place: The Divine Torah he gave us still lives, G-d’s
word is not frozen or ossified, it continues to guide and direct every
situation in every period. And from this perspective, all of our questions
can be answered.
Firstly, G-d may command Moses personally to construct every part of the
Sanctuary, but the Sacred ark – and the Divine Words within it – has to
be erected by all future generations, by the religious leaders of every era,
whose task it is to interpret, expand and apply the Divine Will to the novel
inventions and experiences which continually emerge. Secondly, the ark is
made of acacia wood and is plaited with gold; gold represents constant and
eternal precious value – exactly as our laws and customs are all
predicated on eternal values and ideals such as the unchanging Ten
Commandments – and wood comes from a tree which is ever-growing,
ever-changing, ever bearing new seeds and new fruits. These are like the “children”
(toldot) who emerge from the “parents” (Avot), like the 39 “parent”
prohibitions of physical creativity each of which births 39 “children” (toldot),
or like the festival of Hanukkah and Israel Independence Day which our
Rabbis enacted on the basis of the prophetic dictum that we praise G-d and
celebrate our peoplehood whenever Israel is saved from death and
destruction.
Thirdly, the staves must always remain part and parcel of the Ark as a
constant reminder that the Torah of G-d must always be on the move: the
Torah must be where the Israelites are, and the laws of the Torah must be
able to deal with the exigencies and demands of a society on the move.
Indeed, the very term halakhah means to progress, to step forward, to be
timeless and timely at the same time. That is the message of the staves –
the expression of the ark’s portability – which may never be removed
from the Ark.
And finally, the angelic cherubs – with faces like children and wings
extending heavenwards – symbolize Jewish religious leadership of every
generation through whom we continue to hear the ever –present and
ever-relevant loving voice of the Divine. Of course, our Bible speaks in the
future tense, - when G-d will speak to us and will command us – because
our Torah emerges from the past and legislates for the future, our Torah is
masoret (tradition) and movement, masoret and modernity, at one and the same
time.
Shabbat Shalom
Shlomo Riskin
Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone
Chief Rabbi - Efrat Israel
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